Kansas to stop insured abortions

ACLU not going down without a fight

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas took a stand against new Kansas legislation that will ban women from filing abortions on insurance plans. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, Aug. 30, has caused political uproar because this is the first restriction against abortion to be challenged in court, said The Huffington Post.

Kansas news source The Wichita Eagle quoted Brigitte Amiri, senior attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, explaining, “This law is part of a nationwide trend to take away insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure that is an important part of basic health care for women.”

Amiri expressed throughout the article that unpredictable instances, which occur during pregnancy, may require an emergency abortion and eliminating this option for women would put them in serious danger.

The Huffington Post said that the actual legislation, passed in May, reads that the coverage is to be removed except for those very cases when a mother’s life is at risk. The legislation does not restrict women from buying an additional insurance plan if found in a situation labeled “extreme,” such as rape or serious health risks.

Although this new legislation may have conservatives nationwide cheering for progress, the battle rages on for pro-choice supporters.

“It’s part of the onslaught of laws we’re seeing nationally, and particularly in Kansas, that want to punish and shame women for choosing abortion,” said Amiri to The Huffington Post.

The controversy itself has limited the progress of abortions in the state. US District Judge Carlos Murguina issued restrictions for abortion providers. These restrictions have jolted two out of Kansas’ three abortion providers to a complete standstill, said USA Today.

The new legislation creates a whole new argument for abortion supporters who feel that this limits equality in the workplace. They argue that while men have the opportunity to receive full health insurance coverage, women will be limited in this particular area. The ACLU is using this particular argument to claim that this legislation is unconstitutional because it restricts women in a way men will never be forced to experience.

The ACLU is so fired up about this particular legislation being passed in the state of Kansas that it has vowed to investigate any type of restriction of this kind in other states across the nation. While the ACLU attempts to appeal this particular legislation, the organization plans to continue to pursue any form of legislation they feel is unconstitutional.